Eddie Van Halen Took ‘Bottle Of Pills’ In Final Days

Eddie Van Halen died after suffering a massive stroke as he suffered from cancer. Doctors had performed Gamma Knife surgery to remove a brain tumor, and gave Eddie steroid pills to combat swelling, according to a new Rolling Stone article. They made him feel “like Superman,” and the Van Halens always agreed, Alex says, that “if two’s good, twenty’s better. That was our mantra.”

Alex said one day, Eddie took every pill in the bottle, not to hurt himself, but to chase that feeling. “I didn’t see the bottle, but the bottle had, like, a thousand pills in it,” he says. Alex said it ‘hastened’ Eddie’s passing.

During a recent interview with The New York Times , Alex Van Halen opened up on o his decision to release his memoir, “Brothers”, which is due on October 22th.

The book is described as an “intimate and open account — nothing like any rock and roll memoir you’ve ever read” — into the story of family, friendship, music and brotherly love between Alex and his late brother and bandmate, legendary VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen .

Alex Van Halen talks about Eddie Van Halen

Asked why he wrote the book, Alex said: “To add a little more depth to the understanding of what Ed was all about. When you’re in the spotlight, people tend to speak for you. I wanted to remind people that Ed was not a commodity. He was a complex human being.”

When asked how he chose to approach the writing of the book, Alex said: “If you’re going to tell the story, you should give equal space to the good and the bad, Because the good doesn’t make any sense without having the bad.”

“I know that sounds like philosophical mumbo jumbo,” he added. “But I really wanted to emphasize the fact that Ed was brave up until the last minute. At the end of the day, he’s got nothing to be ashamed of. And I wish that he was here and that I could say, ‘Ed, let’s try it one more time.’ Because I know he had it in him.”

The 240-page “Brothers” book is set to be available in three formats: standard hardcover, deluxe autographed hardcover and an audiobook narrated by Alex Van Halen himself. The latter features an unreleased song composed by both Eddie and Alex titled “Unfinished”, the last piece of music the pair wrote together.

“This is my tribute to my brother; my way of saying goodbye,” Alex said. “Ed, I love you and miss you. When I see you again, I’m gonna kick your ass!”

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